1. Academic Programs
  2. Master’s Programs
  3. Master of Environmental Management — MEM
  4. MEM Specializations
  5. Climate Change Science and Solutions Specialization

Climate Change Science and Solutions Specialization

Human-induced climate change is one of the main drivers of the Anthropocene. The physical science of the earth's climate and its sensitivity to pollution is remarkably complex and an area of intense study. The resulting perturbations to the earth system permeate through and impact ecological and human systems.

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    Note that a capstone course used to fulfill the MEM capstone requirement cannot also be used toward fulfilling an MEM Specialization requirement; a capstone course taken once cannot be used to fulfill multiple requirements. Learn more about YSE capstone courses by visiting the MEM Capstone page.

    • Climate Change Science and Solutions

    • Core

      Two required courses.
      Course Name
      Fall 2026
      Spring 2027
      Fall 2027
      Spring 2028
      ENV 630
      The Physical Science of Climate Change
      Lee, Raymond
      YSE | Yale
      Lee, Raymond
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 840
      Climate Change Policy and Perspectives
      Klee
      YSE | Yale
      Klee
      YSE | Yale

    • Elective

      Students must complete four elective courses, one of which must be from the “Practicums and Seminars” bin. The remaining three courses may come from any of the four bins.

    • Climate Mitigation

      Course Name
      Fall 2026
      Spring 2027
      Fall 2027
      Spring 2028
      ENV 594
      Global Carbon Cycle
      Denning
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Denning
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 610
      Managing Ecosystems for Climate Change Solutions
      Brando
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 635
      Renewable Energy Project Finance
      Tentative
      Gross
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Gross
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 636
      Carbon Dioxide Removal
      Crotty, O’Rourke
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Crotty, O’Rourke
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 646
      Regenerative Agriculture Systems
      Wood
      YSE | Yale
      Wood
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 696
      YFF:Tribal Forestry:
      Tentative
      Ashton, Duguid, Dunning, Torres
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Ashton, Duguid, Dunning, Torres
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 716
      Renewable Energy
      Tentative
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 730
      Environmental Data Science in R: Introduction to Data Integration and Machine Learning
      Malone
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 785
      Climate Change and Urban Nature Based Solutions in the Global South
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 800
      Energy Economics and Policy Analysis
      Gillingham
      YSE | Yale
      Gillingham
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 814
      Energy Systems Analysis
      Rao
      YSE | Yale
      Rao
      YSE | Yale

      ECON 331
      The Economics of Energy and Climate Change

      EPS 274
      Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions

      EPS 725
      Geoengineering and Carbon Capture

      ENAS 673
      Air Quality and Energy

      GLBL 730
      Managing the Clean Energy Transition: Contemporary Energy and Climate Change Policy Making

    • Climate Impacts and Adaptation

      Course Name
      Fall 2026
      Spring 2027
      Fall 2027
      Spring 2028
      ENV 639
      Food Systems and Climate Services
      Tentative
      Hernandez-Aguilera
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 645
      Urbanization, Global Change and Sustainability
      Seto
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 705
      Global Climate Change: Simple, Serious, and Solvable
      Denning
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Denning
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 722
      Boundary Layer Meteorology
      Lee
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 734
      Biological Oceanography
      Decker
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Decker
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 773
      Air Pollution Control (APC)
      Gentner
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Gentner
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 793
      Climate Change, Societal Collapse, Resilience
      Weiss
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Weiss
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 819
      Measuring and Visualizing Urban Environments
      Salazar-Miranda
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 820
      Urban Adaptation to Climate Change
      Castro
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 828
      Risk: Environmental Science and Decision-Making
      Wargo
      YSE | Yale
      Wargo
      YSE | Yale

      EHS 547
      Climate Change and Public Health

      EHS 547
      Climate Change and Public Health

      EPH 571
      Seminar in Climate Change and Health

      EPS 140
      Atmosphere, Ocean, and Environmental Change

    • Climate & Society

      Course Name
      Fall 2026
      Spring 2027
      Fall 2027
      Spring 2028
      ENV 621
      Exploring Climate Solutions Through Science and Fiction
      Sanford
      YSE | Yale
      Sanford
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 761
      Negotiating International Agreements: The Case of Climate Change
      Biniaz
      YSE | Yale
      Biniaz
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 792
      Climate Change Communication
      Leiserowitz
      YSE | Yale
      Leiserowitz
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 850
      International Organizations and Conferences
      Boyd
      YSE | Yale
      Boyd
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 878
      Climate and Society: Past to Present
      Dove
      YSE | Yale
      Dove
      YSE | Yale

      ANTH 791
      Paleoclimate and Human Response

      ECON 432
      Economics of Social Catastrophes: Climate Change and Pandemics

      HIST 459J (Yale College course)
      Climate Change and the Humanities

    • Practicums and Seminar Classes

      Course Name
      Fall 2026
      Spring 2027
      Fall 2027
      Spring 2028
      ENV 632
      Intro to Social Entrepreneurship
      Tentative
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 686
      Synthesizing Science for Policy and Practice
      Kuebbing, Bradford
      YSE | Yale
      Kuebbing, Bradford
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 959
      Clinic in Climate Justice, and Public Health
      Tentative
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 966
      Sustainability Implementation: Change Management in Institutional Settings
      Smith, Crum
      YSE | Yale
      Smith, Crum
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 970
      Environmental Protection Clinic Policy and Advocacy (Follows Law School Calendar)
      Tentative
      Kysar
      YSE | Yale
      Tentative
      Kysar
      YSE | Yale
      ENV 979
      Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors
      Klee
      YSE | Yale
    Climate Change Illustration

    Learning Community

    There is a corresponding “Learning Community” for each MEM Specialization, where anyone interested in the topic can find related news, spotlights, colleagues, and events.

    Explore the Community

    Faculty Coordinator

    Staff Manager